Down From the Opera House
by ThesisKiller
Summary: Erik is fourteen and in the present day. What will happen at the school dance that happens to be coming up?
1. A magician is he?

Rachel walked down the hallway and into the familiar room of 203.

The room was medium sized. It had around twenty five desks in it, not including the teacher's. There was also someone else inside the room; he was new. She took the seat next to him.

"Hi," she said shyly.

He looked up from his desk. "Hi." He replied just as shyly.

"Language arts should be fun." Rachel said sarcastically.

"I kinda like this class... I'm- I'm from," he paused. "France... so I need to make sure my English is up to date." He said, avoiding her eyes.

"Cool." Said Rachel. She'd never met anyone French before. _Cool? Say something else to him!_ She thought.

"So… uh…" she said, trying to think of a topic.

He looked up again. "I'm Erik, by the way." He said, slightly shrugging his shoulders.

"Rachel." She said, nodding.

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Erik was surprised that anyone had spoken to him. Usually his mask drove away his chance of having friends. Luckily, this girl was on his left, and his mask on the right, so she hadn't seen it.

He had been wearing the mask since he had been old enough to realize that it was his face in the mirror, and not a monster's. _Well, it is a monstrous looking face..._ He thought to himself.

Today he had done the smart thing and sat with his right to the wall; hopefully the teacher wouldn't move him...

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_He's cute..._ Rachel thought silently.

Erik had pale skin; she liked guys who weren't totally tan. His eyes- or rather, the one eye she had seen, was a slightly brown color, but mostly green. His hair was… wavy- for lack of a better word.

Other people began filing into the room, all of them around Rachel's age- thirteen or fourteen.

When the grand total of twenty three students sat in the room, a tall woman walked in. "Hello everyone. Please just welcome our newest student, Erik, to our class." she told the class.

The class murmured a "Hello, Erik." and she began again.

"So! Seeing as this is November, we will only be here for a few more weeks until Thanksgiving break," she said. "You'll all be pleased to know that you are getting two weeks break this year instead of one.

"More time to forget our schedule!" Rachel said sarcastically, only within earshot of Erik.

"Woo!" Erik said, smiling.

The teacher began the lesson about comma placement while Rachel and Erik made sarcastic comments about it to each other.

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_Why does she talk to me so much? _ Erik wondered. He'd never had a friend for very long… let alone a female friend. _Well. It'll only last until she glimpses my mask… she'll think I'm such a freak…_

"Erik?" Ms. Starla's voice said

"Uh. Yes?" he asked as the class giggled at his not paying attention.

"Can you please come up to the board and place a comma in this sentence?" she asked.

_Oh no… when I walk back they'll see my-_

"Of course, Ms. Starla." He heard himself say.

He walked up to the board, grabbed a dark green marker, and placed the comma in the correct place. But before he turned around, he took a small slip of paper out of his pocket, and handed it to the teacher. She read the note and nodded.

The rest of the class didn't know that the note read:

To the teacher of Erik,

_Please allow Erik to wear his mask, for he has a deformity which may cause the other students to ridicule him._

_ -Belladora Carriere _

The rest of the class, including , also didn't know that Erik has written the note for himself, because of his parents' absence.

"That's correct." Ms. Starla said.

He turned to walk to his seat, but was paralyzed slightly by the stares at his mask. He continued walking to his seat. The class had stopped watching him, but there was still Rachel…

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_Why's he wearing a mask…? _Rachel thought to herself.

"What's that?" she asked, hoping that she wasn't being rude.

He hesitated. "A mask," He said coolly.

"Wh-"she was going to ask him why he wore it, but thought she might offend him. "Well it looks pretty cool." She said instead. _It looks pretty cool? Nice one, stupid._ She thought to herself.

He exhaled in a sort of chuckle and smiled. "Thanks."

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_Cool? Really? Wow. She thinks it looks cool… she's probably just lying… she… she'd never think I was cool… if she- if she knew what was under this mask…_

The rest of the classes went on, Erik and Rachel had so far had every class together, and at noon, they found seats in the cafeteria.

"You didn't bring a lunch?" Rachel asked Erik.

"Oh… Must've slipped my mind." He replied.

"You wanna share some of mine?" Rachel asked rather awkwardly.

"No, thanks. You go ahead. I had a big breakfast." He lied.

_I'll have to grab some food from the opera house when I go to the show tonight…_

"Rachel?" he asked.

"Yeah?" she said, glancing up from her sandwich.

"Uh." He was going to ask her to go to the opera house with him tonight, but he panicked. "Do you-uh- do you like poetry?" he asked, his panic drive on overload.

"Yeah, I guess. Why?" she replied, a slightly confused look on her face.

"Just… makin' conversation." He said, an awkward smile on his face.

_Real smooth._ He thought to himself.

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Rachel finished her lunch by 12:10; she wanted to get back to talking with Erik.

"So…" she said, glancing around the room for ideas on what to talk about.

"Uh. You play any instruments?" Erik asked.

"I played violin for about two years, but I'm not very good at it. Wish I could play the piano, though. That'd be _so _cool." She replied.

"Cool. I play a bit of piano," Erik said, hoping to impress her.

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_Offer to teach her, man! _He thought to himself.

"That's so awesome. My mom says that maybe I can take lessons this year, but I doubt she'll follow through," Rachel said, a bit disappointed.

"Well let's hope she lets you, then." He said stupidly.

_Wow. Let's hope she lets you? Nice one._

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"So -uh- you just moved here?" she asked, hoping that they'd have something in common.

"Yeah. Transferred from France; I was raised speaking English though." He said.

"Cool. Seems like we have a lot of classes together." She said, laughing. _Maybe we can be… even better than friends… we could be… BEST FRIENDS. _She thought to herself to keep from thinking of Erik in a romantic way.

They headed to their class after lunch, where Rachel sat next to Erik gladly.

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Erik had started writing the beginnings of a song. Earlier that week he had accidently made a very catchy tune on his piano, so he _had_ to get some lyrics for it. So far for the words he had:

_Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation._

_Darkness stirs, and wakes imagination._

_Silently the senses abandon their defenses._

_Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor._

_Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender._

_Turn your face away from the garish light of day._

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Rachel glanced at the paper he was writing.

"You're left handed? That's cool." Rachel said. She loved lefties.

"Thanks." Erik said, not looking up.

"Whatcha writin'?" she asked curiously, cocking her head to get a better look.

She read the first few lines before Erik covered the paper hastily.

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"Uh. Nothing," He said embarrassed.

"Come on. That doesn't look like nothing." She said, persistently.

"It's nothing, okay?" he said as she tried to make a grab for it.

She reached across his left arm to try and grab the paper, and as she did, her arm slightly touched his shoulder.

Erik stiffened, not used to having physical contact with people. Rachel seemed to notice this, and backed off.

"Uh… sorry…" she said awkwardly.

_Good job! _He thought to himself.

"Uh… it's okay. I mean- you didn't- you didn't do anything to apologize for…" he replied even more awkwardly.

The clock ticked slowly as five minutes passed.

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"So…" Rachel said, trying to bring some life back to the conversation.

"Are you a singer?" Erik asked randomly.

"Not- not in public. I mean, I sing when I'm alone sometimes." She said. In reality she actually sang whenever people weren't around to hear her.

"Why?" she asked.

"Oh. Just curious, I suppose." He replied, continuing to write.

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Erik though continued to write for the next minute before he decided to stop and try to talk to Rachel again. He placed his paper and pen in his binder and looked at her.

_Wow… her eyes are like crystal pools… _He thought.

"Your eyes are," he paused, not wanting to continue, but he knew he had to. "Very-uh- very blue." He said instead, blushing. _Come on, don't be such an IMBECILE! _He thought, mentally facepalming

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Rachel was a bit disappointed that Erik hadn't said what she thought he was going to, but she realized that he probably panicked at the last second.

She chuckled slightly. "Thanks. Your eyes are very green," She said smiling.

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_Well at least she thought it was funny. _Erik thought.

Their class finished quickly and pretty soon they moved to their next class, which they also had together, and took seats by the far right wall.

At this moment, a girl with long blonde hair took the seat in front of Erik, turned around, and said "Hi!"

"Hi." Erik and Rachel replied at the same time.

"I'm Alyssa!" she said, a wide smile on her face.

"I'm Rachel." Rachel told her.

Alyssa looked at Erik.

"Erik." He said.

"So, you knew to Pinson, Erik?" she asked, still smiling.

"Yeah." Erik said said.

"Let me know if you need, like, help finding anything." She said nicely.

Now Alyssa got a bit more serious.

"So… Why do have on a mask?" she asked him. The one question he didn't want to answer.

He tensed. Rachel, who was looking at him, noticed and said quickly, "He's a magician in training. Gotta hide his identity!" she gave him a wide smile.

_She… lied to help me? Wow. She's pretty cool… _He thought.

"Oh, cool!" Alyssa said, nodding.

They chatted with Alyssa, easily avoiding the mask topic, until the bell rang, and it was time to leave.

"Bye guys! See you tomorrow!" said Alyssa cheerfully.

"Bye!" Rachel and Erik said. Alyssa was an easy person to befriend.

When they were outside of the building, Erik pulled Rachel over to a tree where they couldn't be seen.

"Hey –um- thanks. For the –uh- yeah." He said awkwardly.

"Yeah, no problem." She replied, obviously not wanting to stay on the topic.

"Uh- yeah…" he cleared his throat. "Well I'll see you tomorrow, then," he said, walking away.

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"Are you walking home?" Rachel asked, hoping that they could walk together.

"Yeah, are you?" Erik said.

"Yeah." She paused, not knowing how to word her question. "Do you wanna -uh- walk together?"

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_Walk with her? She must really want to unmask me… should I-_

"Sure. Where do you live?" he heard himself say.

_God damn it. I hate it when that happens. _He thought to himself.


	2. First time for everything

Rachel's heart did a sort of jump. _He said yes? First time for everything, I suppose. _She thought.

"Well you know where that huge opera house is? I live like on the street behind it." She told him.

_We live rather close…_ he thought.

"Cool. We live near each other. I live," he paused. "Down… from the opera house." He said quickly.

They walked for about ten minutes, laughing and joking, when they came to the opera house.

"Wow. This place is really beautiful." Rachel said, admiring the building.

"Yeah. Maybe-"he stopped, but then decided to continue. "Maybe sometime we could come see a show here or something."

_Please don't be weirded out... _He told himself.

_Is he… asking me out? _Rachel thought to herself.

She blushed slightly. "Yeah, that'd be cool." She said.

"Cool." He said, staring at the ground, blushing, but slightly smiling also.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." Rachel said, turning to walk to her neighborhood.

"Yeah, see ya." Erik replied.

Rachel walked to her house, unlocked the door, and ran to her room. After doing her two-sentence homework, she turned on her computer and went on Facebook. After double checking that Erik Carriere wasn't on Facebook, she went to her kitchen.

"Think of me, think of me fondly, when we've said goodbye," she sang loudly to herself. It was a song she had made up partly on her own; she'd heard it in a dream, and had kept singing it and adding lyrics to it ever since.

Now that she thought about it, Erik seemed vaguely familiar…


	3. Need some god damn pens

Erik walked casually around to the back of the opera house and slipped in the back door. From there he walked quickly through the hall and into one of his many secret tunnels. He rowed across his lake easily; he was so used to it. He dashed over to his organ, and it sprang to life as his fingers danced across the keys.

Quietly he sang, "Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation. Darkness stirs, and wakes imagination…" he paused, forgetting the rest of the words he had written.

He grabbed his quill and dipped it in his nearly empty bottle of ink.

"I really need to get some pens down here." He said to himself.

He scribbled down some notes very sloppily, and in his attempt to fix them, tore the paper in two.

"Damn!" he exclaimed.

Hastily balling the paper with his fist, he grabbed another sheet and made the same notes, but a little neater.


	4. Shiny

That night, Rachel dreamed of an angel; an angel of music. The angel's face was covered, so she couldn't see who exactly it was, and when she unmasked the angel, she woke up immediately.

"Ugh. I hate it when that happens," she said to herself.

She glanced over at her clock. It read 8:06.

"And now I'm running late." She said.

Rachel scrambled around, making breakfast, getting dressed, eating breakfast, brushing her hair, brushing her teeth…

She burst out the door and speed-walked in the direction of the opera house. She nearly barreled into Erik, but she stopped herself in time to only slightly bump into him.

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Erik panicked, thinking someone was approaching him, and whirled around to see Rachel.

"Sorry!" she said holding up her hands apologetically.

Erik, relieved, smiled and said, "That's okay."

They both gave a short laugh, and continued walking to school.

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Rachel couldn't help but take notice that Erik looked exceptionally attractive in the short sleeve shirt he was wearing; his arms were quite muscular.

"So what about you?" she heard Erik say.

"What?" she said stupidly.

He gave a slight smile. "Nothing."

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Erik noticed how Rachel's red-brown hair glimmered in the sun's early light.

"Shiny…" he mumbled.

"What?" she said laughing.

He blushed slightly, and then joined in her laughter. They walked up to the front door of the school, and he opened it for her.

"Why, thank you," she said.

"My pleasure." He said

They both burst out laughing. Erik hadn't been this happy for a long time.


	5. The Awesome Title of Chapter 5

They walked into Ms. Starla's room, barely able to contain their laughter. They were about five minutes late, so everyone was staring at them as they walked in. Ms. Starla, who had been late too, walked in the moment they sat down.

"Take out your homework so I can come around and collect it." She said as she shut the door.

_Crap! I forgot to do it!_ Erik thought.

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"Ugh I forgot." Erik said.

Rachel glanced around furtively, then slid her paper over to wear Erik could see it.

"Here." She whispered.

"Thanks." He whispered. "I'll pay you back."

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Erik quickly copied Rachel's sentences, and, hoping his writing was neat enough, handed it to the teacher.

The class went on, and everyone was overjoyed to learn about the capitalization rules. When Ms. Starla was finished, she made an announcement.

"Okay! So since I am your first teacher of the day, and technically your homeroom teacher, I get the joy of making this important announcement! Even though it is November, I would like to tell you all that this December, we will be having a dance!" she told the class enthusiastically.

The class groaned, Erik and Rachel included.

"Oh come on! The guys will be wearin' tuxedos… The girls will be in the dresses that they probably will pick out tonight…"

The class laughed, happy to lighten the subject.

"Well, I'll give the rest of class to chat about the subject." The teacher said, walking to her desk.


	6. Suddenly that clock is very sexy

Erik felt that the whole dance situation was very awkward. He'd never been one to go to crowded places; unless he could still enjoy it from a safe distance.

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_A dance? Erik is-_ she stopped thinking about that.

"So you think you'll go to the dance?" Rachel asked Erik rather accidentally.

"Um. I don't think so. I don't really enjoy… large crowds of people." He said awkwardly.

"Yeah, me neither. I also don't really like the idea of dressing fancy." She replied.

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Erik had been rather surprised at her reply.

_I would've thought she'd be all excited for a dance. _He thought to himself.

"So," he said, trying to change subjects.

Before Erik had time to be awkward, a tall brunette girl walked over to Rachel and began chatting.

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"Hi Sarah." Rachel said to her friend.

"So… can I take a wild guess at who you want to go to the dance with?" she said, grinning.

Rachel accidentally glanced over at Erik, and quickly looked back, but it was too late; both Sarah and Erik had seen.

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Erik, however, chose not to say anything about this, and looked over at the clock with a great deal of interest.

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Sarah's face burst into a sort of "I know a secret" type of face.

"No!" Rachel said, pointing her finger at Sarah.

"Uh huh. I hear ya." She said smiling.

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"So what's your name?" Sarah asked Erik.

"I'm Erik." He replied.

"I'm Sarah." She said.

He nodded, not knowing what to say next.

She turned back to talk to Rachel some more.

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"Yeah, the one with the Weeping Ang-"Rachel was cut off midsentence by Ms. Starla.

"Alright guys, class is over! Get out!" she said jokingly.

Rachel walked in front of Erik with Sarah, periodically looking back and giggling once she turned around again.


	7. So many new names!

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Erik felt a bit like a third wheel until Sarah walked into a door that was ajar.

He and Rachel went to their classes, and then to their last class. They walked into their Georgia Studies class, where everyone almost always fell asleep.

"Better get out the pillow." Rachel joked to Erik.

They both laughed, and Erik said, "I doubt she'd notice anyway." They lost it.

The teacher, a somewhat old woman, walked into the room.

"Alright! Today we are colonists! I'll arrange you all into groups." She told the class.

When everyone was sorted into their groups, the teacher passed out papers on what to do.

Erik's group consisted of Alyssa, a tall guy with blonde hair, and a dark skinned girl who never looked up from her book.

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Rachel wasn't very happy about her group. Three people she couldn't stand were in it.

Jenna Kert, a girl whose ego was hardly bigger than her wardrobe, Mikey Way, a guy who was always teasing her about everything, and Tim Kai, a know-it-all Asian who picked on anyone who got an answer wrong.

Rachel longed to be in Erik's group.

"Wow, you chose to wear that shirt?" Mikey said to her.

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Erik had heard that. He knew it had been directed towards Rachel too, but he couldn't stand up to that guy. He started to turn around, but decided not to.

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"Shut it, Mickey Mouse," Rachel told Mikey, trying to annoy him.

"Nice-"he was cut off by the teacher.

"Okay, everyone. Get to work!"

They finished their work just in time for the final bell, and packed up their things.

At this moment, a tall guy walked past Rachel with a quiet "Hey." And a slight nod.

She smiled and picked up her books.


	8. DRAMABOMB

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Erik didn't know exactly what was going on, but he knew he didn't like it. Who was that guy? Why was Rachel smiling? Did she like that guy?

"Who's that?" Erik asked Rachel casually.

Rachel blushed. "Oh, that was Tyler." She said casually as well.

Erik nodded and they walked out of their class and out of the building.

"Erik! I need you to do this homework sheet really quickly!" they heard one of the teachers call.

Erik looked at Rachel. "You keep going. See you tomorrow." He walked away.

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"Well look who it is." Rachel heard a voice behind her say. It was Casey, a girl who was always picking on her.

Rachel started to walk towards her house.

"Wait up!" Casey said, running after her.

Casey knocked Rachel's books out of her hand and laughed.

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Erik, who was quickly doing the homework sheet, saw this, and hurriedly scribbled down a random word, and ran out the door.

"I suggest you back up." Erik said boldly, catching the hand that was about to push Rachel down.

Casey seemed to notice Erik's tone, and stepped back gingerly.

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Rachel was so relieved to see Erik that she didn't know what to say.

_He's so nice. I can't believe he did that! He's so cool. _She thought to herself.

"Alright," Casey said, turning around.

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Before Erik had a chance to turn to Rachel, Casey whipped around and quickly placed her hand on his mask. He was so startled by the swift action that he didn't know what to do.

He felt himself reach a hand up and cover the hideousness that was his face. He saw Casey throw his mask over in the field laughing. He couldn't bring himself to look at Rachel. Time was slowing down. He couldn't think. What was going to happen to him now?


	9. The Incredible Mask Part

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Rachel stood up before she knew what she was doing. She threw her bag and books down and walked over to Casey. There was a split second where she didn't know what to do, but she overcame it. She watched as her hand reached up and slapped Casey across the face.

Casey walked backwards towards the parking lot, and then turned and walked away quickly.

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Erik was flabbergasted. He couldn't believe Rachel had done that. And for him?

_She really just did that…_

Then he realized he was still clutching his maskless face.

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Rachel strode over to the spot where Erik's mask was laying, and carefully picked it up. She walked over to where Erik was standing and handed him his mask.

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Erik took the mask in one hand and stepped out of view. He put his mask on, thankful for Rachel.

He walked back to where she was, and saw her walking away quickly. He ran after her.

"Hey!" he caught up to her. She had tears in her eyes and looked shaken. "What's wrong?" he said, afraid that she had glimpsed what he was hiding under his mask.

"Erik, I'm gonna be in _so_ much trouble if my mom finds out about this." She said, continuing to walk.

He didn't know how to reply. "Well, she won't find out, then," he told her.

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Rachel was afraid of getting in trouble by her mother; she knew it wouldn't be pretty. She was also curious about Erik's face. She hadn't seen it because he had covered it so quickly, but he must have had a good reason for wearing the mask.

Rachel did her best not to cry, and only a few tears leaked from her eyes.

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_And… GO!_ Erik thought to himself.

He carefully reached over and brushed the tears off of Rachel's face.

"Don't cry." He said softly.

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Rachel didn't know what to say. She was trying to keep from leaning into his arms, but she didn't have to. At this moment he put his arm around her, making her feel safe, like someone wanted to be around her.


	10. Moving Locations is Totally Normal

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Erik couldn't believe he was doing this.

_I can always move if something goes wrong._ He reminded himself.

They walked towards the opera house and Erik took his arm back, blushing slightly.

"Uh-um. Bye." He said awkwardly and walked quickly around to the back of the opera house so he couldn't be seen.

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"Bye?" she said, a bit confused.

Rachel walked to her house, replaying the past few minutes in her head. She went inside dreamily, and sat on the floor for a while before realizing that she had homework to do.

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Erik went to his usual lair and did his homework quickly. He was thinking about the last few minutes. He smiled to himself, thinking about Rachel.

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The front door whipped open and in stepped Rachel's mother.

"Hi, Mom." Rachel muttered.

Her mother didn't reply, but instead walked straight to bed.

"Nice to see you too…" Rachel said sarcastically under her breath.

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Erik heard a loud bang. He looked around his eerie lair to make sure no one was attempting to come down. He swiftly walked over to his secret rotating bookshelf door, and slipped inside.

In this room lay several masks of his own design. He had tried experimenting with slightly different colored masks, but decided a plain white one was his favorite. This room also contained his numerous paintings of numerous things. From bowls of fruit to sea monsters, there were about fifty paintings in this room.

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_I wonder if Erik's thinking about me…_ Rachel thought to herself, accidentally writing on her table instead of her paper.

"Damn it." She mumbled to herself, erasing the marks.

Once she had finished her homework, she went to her room and lay on her bed thinking about the day.

_What's under his mask?_ She wondered to herself.

"Why's he allowed to wear it?" she wondered aloud.

"What?" a voice from her doorway said.

Startled, Rachel looked up to see her mother standing in the door.

"Nothing." Rachel said quietly.

"Go make some Ramen or something; I gotta go back to work." She said, walking away tiredly.

"Kay." Rachel replied.

Rachel's mother was not her birth mother, but the woman her late father had married soon after Rachel's birth. Rachel was not as close to this woman as she had been to her father. Her father had been a violinist, and when he died, Rachel didn't want to have anything to do with the instrument. She had never really "connected" with her step-mother, and now they hardly ever spoke to each other.


	11. Computer Time!

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Erik woke up in his usual way; the bells on the opera house ringing loudly to symbolize the start of dawn. He stood from his bed and stretched, a cold whip of air slapping his face. He walked swiftly over to the shower that he had managed to hook up with clean, hot water.

Erik turned on the water, and waited for it to be an acceptable temperature. When he was satisfied with the heat, he prepared for his shower.

_Glad I smashed all those mirrors. _He thought to himself, laying his mask on a nearby table.

Once he had showered, he wrapped a towel around himself and proceeded to his wardrobe. Most of his clothes he had bought at popular and current stores, such as Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch.

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The loud blare of the alarm she had set on her phone woke Rachel up.

She rolled off her bed and walked to the bathroom where she did her normal routine of getting ready for school. Once she was dressed and had her hair brushed, she walked into her kitchen where she made herself a piece of toast and spread it with a heavy layer of Nutella.

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When Erik was as satisfied with his looks as he could be, he walked through his secret passage to retrieve the breakfast that was always left out for him. Saving some for lunch, he finished his meal and walked out the door of the opera house.

He walked slowly in case Rachel decided to come running up behind him.

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Rachel headed out the door, and speed walked towards the opera house, eager to get to Erik.

_Oh gosh. _She thought to herself, remembering what had happened the previous day, and hoping that nothing would be awkward between them.

She spotted a figure, who she knew was Erik, walking out from beyond the opera house, and walked faster, not wanting to make him wait for her.

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Erik suddenly remembered all that had happened the day before, and became very anxious. He panicked on the spot and started walking at a normal pace with Rachel rushing up behind him.

Not wanting to seem weird, he turned and waved at her, and slowed down to greet her.

"Hey." He said quite awkwardly.

"Hi." She replied with the same amount of awkwardness.

Erik opened his mouth to say something, but lost the words, and instead continued walking forward, his head pointed at the ground.

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"So did you do the science homework yesterday?" Rachel asked, trying to break the silence.

"Yeah, it took me like twenty minutes." He looked at Rachel, and then back down. "I'm not very good with physics." He added quickly.

"Yeah, it was hard. I looked a bunch of stuff up on the Internet." She said. "What kind of computer do you have?" she asked him.

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"Uhm." He hesitated.

_Who doesn't have a computer? Make something up. _He thought.

"It's a- uh- a Dell. I don't really know specifically. It's really old. I mean, not that old. I've had it for a few years." He was rambling.

Rachel gave a laugh. "Okay then." She said.

They walked to school in mostly silence, Erik thinking of a plan to get a computer.


	12. Oh, Art Club

They arrived at the school's entrance, and found themselves looking at a wall of posters for the December dance.

Erik cracked up and Rachel did the same.

"Wow." Rachel said through laughs.

"They must've printed too many posters!" he said, ripping the door open through the mass of posters.

They walked inside and turned around to see an equally large wall of posters on the inside of the door.

They noticed the time on the clock and hurried to their homeroom.

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The late-bell rang the moment they stepped in the classroom of students staring at them. Rachel noticed that her friends where raising their eyebrows suggestively at her and moving their eyes quickly between her and Erik.

She tried not to blush as she headed for her seat with Erik.

A few moments passed before Ms. Starla began teaching them about adverbial phrases.

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Erik and Rachel made their way through their usual classes, but it felt strange to him. He felt like he had mucked up their friendship the day before.

When school was done, Rachel walked out of the building where Erik was, and she wasn't alone. She was with Tyler, the guy from their Georgia Studies class. They were laughing and chatting, and Erik felt one of his hands ball into a fist.

"Oh, this is Erik." Rachel said, introducing them to each other.

Tyler nodded and said, "Tyler."

Erik nodded slightly and gave a realistic smile.

"Tyler's coming over to my house to work on a project for art club." Rachel explained.

"Ah. Have fun with that." Erik replied semi-sarcastically.

The three of them walked in the usual direction, Erik walking on the right of Rachel as Tyler walked on her left.

Tyler had been noticeably quieter since she introduced him to Erik; he hoped he was intimidated.

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After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the opera house where Erik departed from the group. Glad to have a few moments of alone-time with Tyler, Rachel tried to think of a topic to think about, and of course, the one thing she didn't want to bring up in front of Tyler spilled from her mouth.

"So there's only like a month 'til the dance." She said, blushing as she realized what she had just said.

Tyler looked up. "Heh. Yeah." He said awkwardly as he looked down quickly.

"So, what sort of photos are we supposed to take for this project?" Rachel asked as they walked up to her door.

"I was thinking about maybe, like, nature… or something." Tyler said, an awkward grin on his face.

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Erik was jealous, though he wasn't entirely sure why. He still hadn't really worked out his feelings for Rachel yet.

After banging the keys on his organ for a few minutes, he went up to his usual box five seats in the opera house where they were playing Hannibal.

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Rachel's mom was working late that night, so she and Tyler would have plenty of time to work on their project. Rachel was almost one hundred percent sure that Tyler didn't have romantic feelings for her, but she couldn't help feeling like this was a date.

She and Tyler did their other homework quietly. Once they were both done, Rachel picked up her camera and suggested they go out in the now dimly lit backyard.

"I think it's too dark!" Tyler said.

"Yeah," Rachel replied disappointedly. "Well we could- the stars!" she said, thinking of an idea.

"The stars?" Tyler asked, tilting his head slightly.

"It's too dark to see the nature stuff, but the stars are still bright." She said, smiling.

"Good idea! Let's lay down." He said, his blushing apparent even in the darkness. "I mean- uh-"

Rachel laughed. "I know what you meant."


	13. What a Co-Wink-ee-Dink

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Erik was having trouble focusing on Hannibal. He couldn't stop thinking of Rachel and Tyler, and if they were really doing a project.

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"Take a picture of that, maybe?" Tyler kept saying, pointing at random stars.

There was a faint click as the camera snapped a picture. So far they had several blurry pictures of the night sky.

"Here, you try to take some pictures." She looked over and handed the camera to Tyler. "I think that's a constellation, there." She said, pointing at a jumble of stars.

After around twenty minutes of star gazing, they decided to go inside and eat something.

"Uhm… Well," Rachel said, looking around her pantry. "We have… Ramen, Ramen, or, if you're feeling adventurous, Ramen!" she grabbed two Ramen packets and headed to the stove where Tyler had already began the boiling water.

"I think I'll go with the Ramen." He said laughing.

Rachel glanced at the clock. "Oh, wow. It's already six o'clock. Are your parents picking you up?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah. I'll text my dad." He paused. "Is seven okay? My dad doesn't get off work 'til like six forty five."

"Yeah, that's cool." She responded coolly.

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After becoming angry with himself from thinking too much, Erik decided to go back down to his lair.

_Why do all opera houses have underground lakes and tunnels? _He thought randomly. It was true though, every opera house he had ever lived in (there were four) had had an underground lake and tunnel system. _Maybe the rumors of my preferences have spread…_

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As the pasta boiled, Rachel looked through the photographs on the camera. After deleting all of the horrible and atrocious photos, she focused on the three that were left. She laughed slightly as she looked at the picture Tyler had taken of them both.

"What?" Tyler asked, leaning towards the camera.

"Hah, nothing." She said, looking over in his direction and finding herself staring into the deep blue eyes that were inches from her face.

For a moment, there was no sound at all, only the faint bubble of boiling of water on the stove.

_Oh god, what do I do?_ She thought to herself.

Suddenly, there was a loud CRASH as a large branch or something fell into her driveway.


	14. Meteor Shower?

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In his boredom and jealousy, Erik had decided to walk carefully over to Rachel's house. In this event, he had found himself looking through a small opening in the curtains, and seeing Rachel and Tyler too close for comfort.

Shocked, Erik did what he felt necessary, and chucked a large rock as hard as he could at the pavement. Just as he had hoped, Rachel and Tyler both jumped to their feet to see what had fallen so loudly.

The bad part about this was that Erik was standing right where they were about to be.

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"What the heck was that?" Tyler asked, giving a slight nervous laugh.

"No idea." Rachel replied.

They walked towards the door and Rachel opened it, shocked at what she saw.

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Erik, hiding in the tree just behind the house, watched the scene, glad he had thought of something so quickly.

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"Well. Not much seemed to have happened. I guess it's a meteor shower?" Rachel said, picking up the rock.

"Hah, we better take cover." Tyler replied.

They ate their Ramen, and all too soon, Tyler's father was picking him up, and the day was at an end.

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Erik went back to his home, glad that he had stopped anything from happening.

OooOooOooOooOoo

Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to more weeks, and soon, the month of December was there, and the dance was coming quickly.


	15. Carpooling Yeah!

Over the month or so that he had been there, Erik had come to know a number of guys who were actually friends to him, and he was mildly popular. Erik was enjoying this new location, and just hoped it lasted.

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Rachel wasn't too thrilled about the dance. It started at five o'clock, meaning she would have to go home and walk back to school. Of course she hadn't gotten a dress yet; her mother would never have time to take her shopping. She hadn't even been asked by anyone. She couldn't see a reason to go anyway.

"Hey, girl." A familiarly suggestive voice next to her said.

She glanced over. "Hey, Sarah." She said grinning.

"Wanna go dress shopping after school? My mom said she'll pay." Sarah said, looking hopeful.

"Wow, really? That'd be great." She paused. "But I don't think I'm gonna be going to the dance."

Sarah's facial expression dropped to a rather upset look. "Why? It'll be fun!"

"Yeah… I just don't think I'll have a good time." She replied.

"Nope. You're going if I have to drag you out of the door in your pajamas." Sarah said, laughing.

Rachel smiled. "Fine."

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The thought of the dance had totally been swept from Erik's mind. It was only when his friend, Martin, mentioned it that he realized how near it was.

"Oh, I totally forgot about that!" Erik responded to Martin when he asked him who he was going with.

"Ya better get ready with a tux then, dude." Martin said, laughing.

"So who are you going with?" Erik asked.

"Ah, I'm going with that tall chick, Sarah." He said, grinning.

"Nice." He replied, nodding.

"Who do you _want_ to go with?" Martin asked, his tone changing modestly.

"Uh. I- haven't thought-uh- I- I don't know." He said very awkwardly.

Martin just laughed. "Well when you ask her, tell me. We can carpool!"


	16. Prepare yourself

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The routine day of school went by, and later, Rachel and Sarah were at the mall shopping for dresses.

After grabbing around twenty dresses each, they headed to the dressing room, and tried them all on, showing each other the ones they liked.

"Wow, that one is so pretty." Sarah said to a light blue mini dress that Rachel was modeling.

"You think so? I like it." Rachel said, turning in the mirror.

"Yeah! You should get that one!" Sarah said, smiling.

Once Sarah had picked out a lovely turquoise dress, they headed to the checkout area, and purchased their dresses with the cash that Sarah's mother had provided.

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Erik, who had attended multiple shows at the opera house, had a small variety of formalwear. He decided to pick the outfit on the actual night of the dance.

The next day at school, a date for the dance was the only thing on everyone's, mind; including Erik's. With only two days until the dance, Erik was beginning to panic.

_Should I ask Rachel? _He wondered. _The worst thing she can say is no…_ He thought.

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With her renewed confidence about the dance, Rachel decided it was time to find someone to go with.

It just so happened that Tyler was next to her at this moment.

"So…" she said to him. "Who're you going to the dance with?" she asked him.

He looked at her awkwardly. "Erm. Well. I've not asked anyone yet." He hesitated. "And-and yourself?"

"Same." She looked away, wondering what would happen next.

Tyler lowered his voice a bit. "So- uh. Uh-uhm. Would you-uh- go-uh with me to-uhm-to the dance?" He asked, blushing a deep shade of red.

Rachel smiled. "Sure." She said.

Tyler looked up. "Cool." He said, a small smile on his face.

At the end of the school day, Rachel and Erik met outside the school doors as usual.

Erik looked at Rachel. "So…" he said coolly.

She looked at him. "So?"

"Who's your date to the dance?" he asked casually.

"Oh…" she hesitated, not wanting to offend Erik. "I'm going with- eh- Tyler." She said quickly.

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Erik's heart sank to the bottom of his chest. He could feel his fists getting tight as he grabbed at the air inside his pockets.

"Oh. Cool." He said casually.


	17. His Name Is Really John Egbert

It was the day before the day of the dance, and Erik didn't have a plan. He had almost made up his mind not to go, when he had an idea.

He would go to the dance, strangle Tyler, and swoop in to comfort the crying Rachel! _No. Bad idea. No murdering this time. _He thought.

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Rachel was starting to become very nervous. This was a one-time thing. If she screwed this up, she would never have a social life. EVER.

"Oi! Rachel!" Sarah called from behind her.

Rachel turned. "Oh, hey." She said.

"So who's your date to the dance?" Sarah asked excitedly. "Is it that mysterious mask guy?" she asked, laughing.

Rachel blushed slightly. "Hah, no. I'm going with Tyler." She told Sarah.

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_I might as well not go. _Erik told himself as the final bell rung. _No point, really. _Then he thought, _Well… Maybe I'll go. Just to make sure nothing terrible happens…_

When Rachel walked out of the building with Sarah, he casually began walking in their usual direction.

Rachel and her friend were busy giggling and blushing to notice him. _Probably mocking me…_ Erik thought.

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"No! I told you I'm going with Tyler!" Rachel laughed to Sarah, who wouldn't drop the idea that Rachel was going with Erik.

"Yeah, right!" Sarah replied, laughing.

Sarah was going over to Rachel's house to get ready for the dance that was in an hour. Sarah's mother had dropped off some items for the girls to use to prepare for the dance. She had also dropped of both of the girl's dresses.

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Erik walked to his lair quickly, and decided on what to wear. He opened his wardrobe and pulled out a brownish pinstripe suit. He grabbed the skin colored mask that he sometimes wore on special occasions, and fitted it carefully to his face. After he had combed his hair and wiped every speck of dust from his suit, it was nearing 5 o'clock.

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Rachel and Sarah had groomed themselves nicely, and were about to leave for the dance.

"Let's do this!" Sarah said enthusiastically.

They stepped out into the cold December air, and wondered why they didn't get Sarah's mother to take them.

After walking as quickly as they could through the freezing streets, the girls arrived at the school, where they quickly ran inside.

"Hey, babe." Martin said coolly, walking over to Sarah.

Sarah smiled. "Hey, cool guy." They walked into the large theatre, which had been transformed into a winter wonderland.

Rachel walked awkwardly through the doors to the theatre, looking around for Tyler.

"Rachel!" said a voice from the far corner. She looked up. Tyler was standing with a friend of his and beckoning her over.

Rachel walked the few yards that felt like miles, and smiled at Tyler.

"Hi." She said.

"Hey. You look-nice." He said, smiling.

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Erik decided it was time to go, and dashed out of his home into the dimly lit street. He arrived at the school, which was now crowded with eighth graders, and walked coolly into the theatre, looking around for Martin.

"Erik, hey!" he turned and saw his friend John walking up to him, accompanied by a pretty girl in a pink dress.

"Hey, Egbert." Erik said, calling John by his last name.

"This is Rose." He said, nodding at the girl beside him.

Erik smiled and nodded at the girl.

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The dance had been on for about an hour when Rachel decided to get some food from the buffet that had been set up.

"Hey, I'm gonna go get some food." Rachel told Tyler as she walked away.

"Kay, have fun." Tyler said. He was acting different. Less like the awkwardly adorable Tyler she knew, and more like the arrogant fop that she didn't want to know.


	18. Well That Escalated Quickly

"Hey." Said the person behind Rachel.

She turned. As she saw who it was, her eyes lit up. "Hey!"

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"How's your night going?" Erik asked.

"Ah… Could be better, I suppose." Rachel replied, wishing she had asked Erik to go with her.

"Ah. Well," he hesitated. "Wanna dance?" he asked, trying to keep his cool monotone voice.

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"Hah, sure." Rachel said, glancing over at Tyler, who was dancing with some other girl. They abandoned their places in line just as a slow song started playing.

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_This is it. You can do this._ Erik thought to himself.

They walked over to a less crowded corner and started doing the most ridiculous dance moves you have ever seen. Flailing their arms and kicking their legs, they were dancing like nobody's business. After about a minute of this, both of them nearly fell over laughing at themselves.

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Rachel was having a great time with Erik, but she knew it wouldn't last long. As she straightened herself up from her fit of laughing, she saw an all-too-familiar figure walking towards her and Erik.

"Hey, love boat!" said the cold voice of Casey, the girl who Erik had defended Rachel from so many weeks ago.

Neither Rachel nor Erik said anything.

"Hope you're having a good time!" Casey said, an evil sneer breaking out on her painted-black lips.

Again, there was a silence as neither Erik nor Rachel spoke.

"Lawl." Rachel whispered to Erik, who gave a small laugh.

"What? She just announce her love for you? Yeah, I'd laugh too." Casey said, looking Rachel up and down.

"Oi, Casey, where's your date?" Rachel asked in her snootiest tone.

"Don't try to change subjects, leech." Casey said, now turning to speak to Erik.

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Erik was angry. Almost angry enough to grab his Punjab lasso.

"Wow! Nice mask! I almost didn't see it there!" Casey said. People were starting to watch this scene, and Erik hoped for anything to happen to stop the inevitable.

"You're funny." Rachel said, elbowing Erik slightly to tell him it was time to carry on.

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Erik and Rachel turned to each other, and the crowd around them departed. Rachel saw Tyler walking slowly towards them, and wished he would just stay over there.

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"Nice dress, Rachel! Where'd you get it? Dollar Tree?" Casey had gone too far.

Erik turned to her, and realized that he couldn't hit her; she was a girl. "Shut the hell up before I smack the makeup off of you." Erik said seriously.

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Casey's hand was level with Erik's neck, and rising slowly to his mask. As Casey's fingers looped around the sides of the mask, Rachel grabbed her hand, wrenching it off of Erik's mask. But it had caused more of a problem than she anticipated. From Casey's left hand dangled the mask that Erik hated to talk about. On Casey's face lay a look of pure shock as she stepped away, dropping the mask at their feet.


	19. Poor, Poor Erik

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Erik's worst nightmare was coming true. He could feel the stares that Casey's scream had drawn to him piercing his face. He watched in despair as Rachel turned to look at him. Her eyes widened at the sight of his face, and he found himself thinking of how this face came to be upon him.

He wasn't born with them, the scars. They had been dawned upon him by the horrible people at the orphanage he used to live in. Every day, the other children would go out and play. Those were the children who were sent to the orphanage with money in their baby basket. Erik had been so unfortunate to have been dropped off at the orphanage in nothing but a small sheet.

While the other children were taken to play, Erik was told to stay inside and do the chores. As a small four-year-old, Erik didn't understand why he wasn't taken outside to play, or why the other children wouldn't speak to him, he only thought that he had done something wrong a long time ago, and he couldn't remember.

If Erik didn't do a sufficient job of sweeping the floors, or washing the windows, the head of the orphanage would hit him in the face. It took years of crying and pain before the scars had permanently marred his face.

Now the right side of his face was a deformed area that had never truly healed over.


	20. Everyone loves a cliff hanger!

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Rachel was shocked. She wasn't going to scream, she was going to stare. She couldn't seem to move her legs, or turn her face away from Erik. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes as she thought of all the pain Erik was going through.

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Erik couldn't cry; he was all too used to this. The only thing different about this unmasking is that it was the first time a girl was involved. He darted for the exit, shattering a large glass sculpture, and cut his arm through his thin coat.

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Rachel couldn't stand to see Erik in pain like this. She bent to pick up his mask, and dashed after him, cutting her ankles on the precarious glass shards.

"Erik! Wait!" she called after him, trying to keep up.

He turned and walked into the opera house, and Rachel followed. He walked into a gloomy passage, and Rachel was a bit apprehensive. Without thinking about safety, Rachel ran down the passage which led to a dark lake.

"You shouldn't have followed me." Erik said, looking down to hide his face.

"You-you-you-"she couldn't form sentences.

"I know." He said darkly. "Can you even bear to look? Or bear to think of me?" he asked. Rachel could hear the pain in his voice, and she couldn't contain her tears as they began to slowly roll down her cheeks.

"Er-Erik." She managed to say through shaky breaths. "I-I" she stopped.

"You what? You hate me now? Is that it? Don't worry. I'm used to it." He said, walking into a hidden room.

Rachel hadn't really noticed that they had been talking across a lake, but now she knew that she had to go after him. She glanced around the murky water, and saw a small, gorgeously carved wooden boat. She sloshed through the ankle-deep water, the cuts on her feet stinging.

She jumped into the boat as quickly as she could, and used the thin paddle to sail across to the other side of the lake. She hopped out of the boat, nearly falling on her face, and walked slowly towards the curtain that Erik had just walked through.

"Hounded out by everyone, met with hatred _everywhere_. No kind words from anyone, no compassion anywhere." Erik said as she walked past the curtain into a small room. "Rachel. Why?" he asked. She couldn't stand the pain in his voice.

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Erik knew what happened next. Rachel ran from his hideousness, told everyone how horrible he was, and he would move to another location.

What came next was nothing he expected.


	21. One-Day Suspense

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Rachel walked to where Erik was standing, her back to her.

"Erik." She said gently.

He remained in the same position. Rachel reached a hand to his shoulder, and pulled him to face her. She stared into the green eyes that had changed from being filled with kindness, to being filled with pain and anger.

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Erik watched as Rachel's mouth curved into a kind smile.

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"I don't care." She said, tears cutting her words. She leaned forward and kissed him like she never thought she would.

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Erik's eyes widened as his lips were so gently caressed by those in front of him. He hadn't expected this in any scenario. He kissed her back as best he could. She pulled away from the kiss and hugged him for a long minute. Erik looked at her, a look of confusion and happiness on his face, as she smiled up at him, tears streaming down her face.

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Rachel was a bit shocked at herself. She had never kissed anyone, and wasn't even sure she had done it correctly.

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While Erik and Rachel were staring into each other's eyes, a blood curdling scream pierced the air. They both turned around to see the manager of the opera house standing across the lake, his mouth wide open. In his hurry to escape from Rachel, Erik had forgotten to close the secret passage in his wall, and the manager had walked right in.

"Go now." Erik told Rachel seriously.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"Take the boat, don't let them find you." Erik said to her as the manager ran up the staircase to call for help.

"Erik, no!" Rachel yelled as he herded her towards the boat.

"GO NOW! GO NOW AND LEAVE ME!" he shouted with such force that Rachel jumped.

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Rachel couldn't believe what was happening. She liked Erik. Maybe even loved him! She wasn't just going to let him be taken away!

"Erik, what's going to happen to you?" She demanded, backing into the water.

"Go, I'll be fine." He replied.

"Am I ever going to see you again?" Rachel asked through a sob.

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Erik hated to see Rachel cry. "I-I don't know." He lied. He couldn't show his face in this town again.

Though she hated to leave, Rachel got into the boat and paddled away. "I- I-"she had no words.

Erik nodded. Once Rachel had walked reluctantly out of his lair, he lifted the curtain he used to hide his only intact mirror. Grabbing the nearest candle stick, Erik smashed the mirror several times until it had created a narrow opening, and he slipped through it.

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Rachel walked out of the opera house and into the park across the street. She walked to the tunnel slide and crawled into it. She wasn't going home tonight. _Mom won't care. _She thought, laying down in the slide.

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Erik walked through the passageway, thinking of what might've been if his mask had stayed on his face. He walked to a small room where he had a scrap of paper and a pen. On this paper he carefully wrote:

Rachel,

221 Main Street. Leave a note with the baker for me; he is a friend of mine.

He pinned this note to the back door of the opera house, hoping that Rachel would see it.

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Rachel saw Erik put a note on the door, and wondered what it could be. She decided to wait a few minutes before checking it out.


	22. Such a Safe Place

Tears formed in Rachel's eyes as she read the note. She tucked it safely into the top of her dress, and decided that she would go to her home.

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It seemed as if no one was coming from the opera house. No sign of the manager anywhere.

He whispered to himself, "No one would listen… No one but her…" he thought about how pretty Rachel was. "Shamed into solitude… Shunned by the multitude-" there was a large crash as people clambered down the steps to his lair.

Erik quickly grabbed his bamboo pole and hid himself in the deep end of his lake, cleverly concealing himself from the intruders by breathing through the pole.

A few hours passed, and eventually the people left. Erik knew he would have to leave his home. He thought of all the possible places he could go. After a few moments of thinking, he remembered the apartment complex that was only one hundred dollars per month.

_I can get the baker to rent the apartment, since he's an adult. I can find a job at the bakery and use the money that the manager provided me with every few months._ He thought excitedly.

Erik grabbed his things and hid himself in a tiny room that had nothing but a pillow and a few sheets. He lay down in this room and tried to fall asleep, thinking about the new life ahead of him.


	23. Epilogue

Erik doesn't go to school anymore, but he still keeps some contact with Martin, who comes over to his apartment occasionally. Erik has access to a computer, and practices his skills on it when he's not working fulltime at the bakery. He sees Rachel almost every night at the bakery, where they talk about what's been happening.

Rachel wasn't really pinned down about what happened at the dance, and people don't really care about it, anyway. She and Tyler talk occasionally, but she can tell that he has turned into a complete and utter fop. She is happy that she gets to talk to Erik so often. They are technically boyfriend and girlfriend, and they kiss every now and again.

Recently, Rachel has been writing a small story on her computer. She calls it "The Phantom of the Opera".


End file.
